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November 7, 2011
New Jersey left behind when Nets move to Brooklyn?
NorthJersey.com
by John Brennan
Bergen Record reporter follows up on the same NY1 report.
About seven years ago, I attended a Nets press conference about the plan to move the Nets to Brooklyn in a few years. At one point Bruce Ratner, then principal owner of the Nets, told me that he thought he could retain a good portion of the New Jersey Nets fans once they move to Brooklyn.
Considering that few New Jerseyans I know make many – if any – trips to Brooklyn, that seemed like a stretch.
Now comes some interesting numbers from Dan Lefton, vice president of suites sales and premium seating for the Barclays Center, which is scheduled to open near downtown Brooklyn in 10 months.
Lefton told NY1 television that 39 percent of sales of his product come from Brooklyn, 25 percent from Manhattan, and the rest a combination of “New Jersey, Connecticut, and Philly.
...I suspect that Lefton also would mean to include sales from Queens, Long Island, and Westchester County, further cutting into the portion of the 36 percent of remaining suite and club seat sales that come from New Jersey.
But what about single-game tickets?
Some Nets officials sensibly have theorized that the Nets could draw a respectable Jersey crowd for Saturday and Sunday afternoon games, when the least amount of traffic would be expected. But automobile-riding suburbanites may find it difficult to find parking, so the best hope for a Jersey audience is from those willing to take a subway or two. Of course, those lines run less frequently on weekends. That means the Nets may find it challenging to come up with a way to attract Garden Staters.
NoLandGrab: Especially since they've had little luck attracting Garden Staters while actually playing in the Garden State.
Posted by eric at November 7, 2011 11:37 AM